1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for mounting an apparatus with a bracket. This invention is particularly advantageous for a flat panel video screen.
2. Background
Mounting brackets are necessary for many purposes. For example, a flat video screen, is thin in comparison to the depth of conventional cathode ray video screens and lends itself to wall or ceiling mounting. Flat panel video displays offers high video resolution, a larger surface area for display, and less weight than older video screen technologies but they are still awkward to manipulate when mounting. Additionally, because thinness of the screen type is a strong virtue, it is important to mount such devices as close to the wall as possible. This makes access to mounting holes more difficult for the installer to see as the screen and bracket are often tight to the wall during and after installation.
Flat panel video screens are expensive, and any mounting systems for the plasma video screen must be able to securely connect to the plasma video screen. The problem is that there are many manufacturers of such devices and no comprehensive standardization of the mounting holes. Consequently, to make a mounting apparatus capable of connecting different models requires that slots not holes be provided to mate with as many brands as possible.
However, there are dedicated mounting apparatus made for particular brands. A dedicated mounting apparatus for a particular brand can use a screw hole in the bracket or a slot in the bracket through which a screw connects to attach to the video screen holes on the back of the video screen. A drawback of a dedicated system with a screw hole in the bracket is that users can over torque the screw when connecting the bracket to the back of the video screen. A drawback of a dedicated system with a slot in the bracket is that the shear factor increases for connecting the screw to the back of the video screen.
As discussed above problems exist for a screw hole and a slot in a mounting bracket. The problems are exacerbated when the material into which the screws are tightened is a soft material. For example, as in the case of the hole in the back of a video display screen, the material is soft. The installer can have a tendency to over tighten the screws in a screw hole of a soft material. In the case of a slot, the installer can be concerned about slippage within the slot, and over-tighten.
These dedicated mounting systems also lack the flexibility to allow a broad range of alignment for the flat video screen, and at the same time provide a secure connection for the video screen. The mounting systems should permit the user to easily adjust or align the position of the video screen up or down on the mounting apparatus according to the user's preferred height of the screen.
As popularity of the flat panel video screens has flourished, the numbers of different models of screens have likewise continued to grow. The increase in numbers of screens means that a seller of mounting kits needs more space to stock a variety of different dedicated kits to service customers.
Thus, a need exists for an apparatus and mounting system for various devices such as a flat video screen that can securely connect a variety of different models of display to a bracket without the drawbacks of the dedicated mounting apparatus. A need further exists for an apparatus and mounting system that permits a greater range of alignment than a dedicated mounting system without affecting the secure attachment of the apparatus to the device.